1 Overview
2 Selection Box
3 Text Box
4 Checkbox
5 Date
6 Time
7 DateTime
8 Date/Time/DateTime Format
9 StartUpXML Example
10 ExportXML Example

There are different Metadata Types:

Selection: drop-down box, containing several, user-definable <item> elements.
Text: text field.
Checkbox: checkbox, can either be off ("0") or on ("1").
Date: Date selection via a text input field or a DatePicker.
Time: Time selection via a text input field.
DateTime: DateTime selection via text field or DateTimePicker.

All of these elements can be used as often as you want and in any possible order and combination.

Overview

All metadata elements follow the same XML structure. Each element starts with the following XML element:

<control></control>

This element can only have one attribute ("resetAfterRecord"), which resets the Metadata Field's value after each Recording (“0”, means the value stays as it is. “1” will reset the value):

<control resetAfterRecord="1"></control>

Within this control element, you have to define the “name”, “label”, “currentValue”, and “type”:

<control resetAfterRecord="0">
        <name>quality</name>					#use this name to address the value of this element within the ExportXML 
        <label>Quality</label>					#this name will be used to tag the element within the just:in interface (inspector)
		<currentValue>Medium</currentValue>		#sets the default value for this element
        <type class="Selection">				#defines the control type (selection, text, checkbox, etc.)
            <item>Low</item>
            <item>Medium</item>
            <item>High</item>
        </type>
</control>

Selection Box

The Selection Box element can be used if the operator should choose from a predefined set of options:

Text Box

The Text Box element can be used for any element, which should contain text only:

Checkbox

The Checkbox is for any elements, which can only have two states:

Date

This element lets you choose a date:

Time

This element lets you choose a specific time:

DateTime

With this element, a specific date and time combination can be defined:

Date/Time/DateTime Format

Changing the format of these metadata elements is straightforward. To simplify this task even more, we use the default system settings. To change it, open the custom format settings for “Dates” and “Times”, please proceed as follows:

Open the macOS System Preferences and open the “Date & Time” preferences panel:

Click on the “Open Language & Region…” button (“Date & Time” tab):

Switch to the “Advanced…” settings:

Select / Change the “Dates” and/or “Times” format settings ("Full:") at will:

StartUpXML Example

Please note that the StartUpXML file structure must follow the rules mentioned above; otherwise, the Metadata Sets will not work correctly and can lead to unexpected behaviour.

ExportXML Example

The ExportXML file can have any possible structure. As mentioned above, the variables defined in the StartUpXML can be addressed as shown below.

ToolsOnAir User Guide Central

[JIM] Metadata Types v.5.5